Outrage! Is It Now?
Whilst the wait for their third record hasn't been anywhere near as long as between their first two, Death From Above 1979 (or they've actually asked politely to drop the number) are the kind of band who are unpredictable enough to suddenly decide to up and disappear so each trickle of new material should be embraced. When You're A Woman, I'm A Machine dropped almost exactly thirteen years ago DFA rightfully blew up. Whilst they may well have been overshadowed by another duo around the time writing the Jeremy Corbyn theme tune among other classics, it didn't halt the kind of cult following both Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler were able to shape and mould with their erratic breed of noise rock.
The challenge DFA face, and will seemingly face with every new release, is the fact that this debut record was such a classic (which grew even further in reputation over the years), the spotlight will always be on them to maintain that level of energy and consistency. With Outrage! Is Now they've got it half done - literally by the fact that the opening couple of tracks roar at you before it tails off in the latter stages. Their energy is certainly still very prominent, but there are points on this record where there just seems to be a loss of focus. As expansive as their sound is, there's no doubting that everything has always been very deliberate - at times here it felt like they let themselves go to kind of mediocre results.
As noted though, the first few tracks fly out of the blocks with Caught Me being a particular highlight. Some of these tracks will certainly integrate well in to their live shows with the lead single Freeze Me being the kind of instant classic you'll be hearing for years yet. Whilst the other main single off the record Never Swim Alone is also a very catchy number, once you hear the similarities to a pretty damn distinctive tune from Super Mario you'll never be able to unhear it.
Overall then this is a good record, one that will reignite interest towards one of the most influential bands in modern music. Fine, it's not quite their best but still more than worth a listen or two.